I just called by to check out some old sketchbooks and noticed that at some point earlier this year Photobucket have decided to make their service premium. Or as some sites are putting it... Photobucket replaces millions of images with 'ransom demand'

I think that's somewhat dramatic. I mean I kind of get it. I don't know how they made money before now. Images embedded everywhere hosted by them showed no indication of where they were being hosted from in most cases unless you checked the URL of the individual image. It was rare to find a link back to Photobucket, so it seems to me like Photobucket was providing a thankless service.

It does feel kind of unfair that they've done it this way though. It hasn't been a big deal for me personally because I've neglected many of my previously regular internet stops, so it's taken me until now to notice. But just trying to visit a few places today that aren't regularly kept check of by the content creators has left a sour taste.

A quick Google search produces several browser extensions and add-ons that claim to be 'fixes', but subverting a paywall doesn't feel right to me. Even if it is a service that I'm used to being free.

I myself used Photobucket exclusively for my third party image hosting here on PK, or I did, so now I have to head over to Photobucket and see if I can download all of my images. And then I'll have to find a new place to host it's all very tedious.

I've thought about submitting stuff on artstation but it looks like a place for professionals and people that are vastly superior in skill compared to mine. Kinda embarrassed to upload to that site as i might be wasting my time there and they'll turn their nose at me.